60
The stylish sci-fi film makes some eye-popping and unexpected choices that add up to one heck of a fun film.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
60
There was much to dread about this new iteration of Dredd, but it's a solid, occasionally excellent take on the character, with Urban's chin particularly impressive.
70
Grim, gritty and ultra-violent, Dredd reinstates the somber brutality missing from the U.K. comicbook icon's previous screen outing.
75
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
If there's a serious disappointment, it's the villain. Ma-Ma, despite being played with over-the-top zest by Lena Headey, isn't a very impressive foil for the mighty Judge Dredd, even when she calls for "back-up."
60
Total Film by Jonathan Crocker
Grungy, compact and delightfully violent, Dredd wants to hit you as hard as it can. The sequel may be the movie you really want, but for now, justice has been done.
80
The impressively lean script by Alex Garland (28 Days Later) is shorn of almost all superfluity beyond a few dud Schwarzeneggeresque kiss-offs, while Anthony Dod Mantle's sensational widescreen cinematography harkens back to the tension-inducing inventiveness of early John Carpenter.
67
The Playlist by Todd Gilchrist
Dredd is a video game procedural tied to great visuals, but one without deeper substance to make its experience remotely meaningful.
It's a shame this failed at the box office because it's a great action film and a great cyberpunk film - hard to come by. The mundanity of Dredd's hyperviolence -- the fact that the raid on Peach Trees is just another day in the life of a Judge, is a narrative wrapper that perfectly encapsulates its confined, tense setting. Locking down an apartment building and just trashing it never gets old. Slo-Mo is a genius technical tool as well, allowing the creators to go ham on the violence. Lena Headey shines as the antagonist in over her head, but no star shines brighter than Karl Urban, perfectly cast as Judge Dredd. Just give him a sequel already, or the TV show I keep hearing about.